Report

The Stan Army made the long journey to the north bank of the Humber to take on North Ferriby who in a previous incarnation as North Ferriby United played in the National North League. The Stan earned an important away point against tough opposition despite the opportunity being there to take all 3 points especially in the 2nd half when they dominated possession & had a player advantage. There were 3 changes from Wednesday’s draw with Blyth Town with Shepherd, Groves & Robson replacing Stephenson, Walker & Adamson. 

The 1st clear opportunity of the match came for the Stan in the 4th minute when a Capewell header from a free kick was deflected for a corner from which the home keeper punched the ball clear. The ball came back in & the keeper had to clear again. 2 minutes later & North Ferriby won a corner from which Brass caught the ball. Hopper then broke forward, but his shot was blocked & the same thing happened again soon after. A common theme in the game then started when bad tackles were made on Hopper then twice on Errington. In 12 minutes, a Beattie header was put out for a corner. In 15 minutes, Brass punched clear from a home corner although the flag was up for a foul. A Stan attack was then blocked followed by Errington shooting wide. There was more Stan pressure in the 19th minute followed by a North Ferriby counterattack which came to nothing. There was not much between the teams & in 23 minutes Brass had to clear which was followed by a Beattie counterattack which ended with the home keeper getting to the final ball before Hopper. In 24 minutes, Brass made an easy save which was followed soon after by a North Ferriby corner which they headed over the bar. A Groves free kick in the 28th minute was caught by the home keeper followed by an advancing Beattie being hacked down. This was followed by dreadful tackles on Evans & Shepherd. In 33 minutes, a home attack was blocked for a corner from which the resulting headed ball went straight to Brass. North Ferriby then shot well over the Stan bar from a free kick. In 38 minutes, another bad challenge on Evans saw Hogg receive a straight red card. Both teams still tried to attack & in the 40th minute an Errington counterattack & shot forced a save from the home keeper. The half ended with more Stan pressure but no goals.

With a player advantage, the Stan dominated possession in the 2nd half, but North Ferriby managed to stop their efforts to score. The home keeper had to make a save in the 47th minute although 3 minutes later Capewell had to head clear at the other end. It was all Stan for the next 15 minutes until North Ferriby eventually got a corner. In this period of Stan possession & pressure, Hopper sliced the ball over the bar & shot over the bar & the home keeper had to get down to save an Errington effort. In the 64th minute, Hopper advanced into the home 6-yard box but the keeper just got to the ball 1st. 3 minutes later & a ball from a Groves corner was cleared twice. The Stan were still dominating possession & having almost all the chances but without any end product. The Stan continued to attack & in the 74th minute a Hopper ball into the box hit a home player’s hand but no penalty was given. North Ferriby continued to be very physical as they tried to stop the Stan get the goal they desired. Sub Burn shot over in the 80th minute followed by the home keeper being booked for time wasting which he continued to try & do until the final whistle. Evans, whose performance both at the back & going forward won him man of the match, forced a save from the home keeper in 82 minutes. This was followed by an Errington long range effort being easily caught by the home keeper. The Stan continued to pressurise & the match ended with Hopper being pulled down in the home box as he was about to shoot but nothing was given.

Despite having most of the possession in the 2nd half, the Stan could not get the all-important winning goal. Lack of clear chances, very physical & time-consuming opposition & poor refereeing also played their part. 9th placed Stan now host Consett on Monday followed by a much shorter trip next Saturday to take on Blue Star in the FA Cup.                                 

Kevin Mochrie